Every Subject's Soul is his Own
by Raining Sky Guy
Summary: "Every subject's duty is the king's; but every subject's soul is his own" A shift in perspective when Ichigo learned Final Getsuga Tenshou. We see up close how Zangetsu and Shirosaki accepted it, after they taught the technique to their King. They were not only Ichigo's soul, they were also themselves.


**First time in this fandom. Hi. And sorry in advance XD. It's my take at SPOILER AHEAD Ichigo losing his powers in his last attack. From a certain point of view. Oh, and it's family , no romance here.**

**Quote on the description by W. Shakespeare.**

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"_For surely a king is first a man. And so it must follow that a king does as all men do: the best he can."_

― _Cameron Dokey, The Storyteller's Daughter_

Shiro didn't know what to do. He wordlessly saw the ever steadfast Zangetsu cry in his younger-looking, bankai form. He had been crying ever since Ichigo first entered their inner world, wanting to learn the thrice damned Final Getsuga Tenshou. He grimaced to the stormy clouds of the sideways sky, not that much concerned that he was about to disappear as well.

Heck, Zangetsu wasn't even crying about that either. The idiot was crying for Ichigo who'd be left alone. He was crying because he had wanted to protect Ichigo from this technique and failed. He was crying because they all would part ways without hope of being together again. He was crying because they were the youngest out of all Soul Society, yet they were the ones to lose it all. They both had felt a thrumming of apologetic solace coming from Engetsu that was tuned out by the both of them. They needed no sympathy.

Shirosaki approached the young man, draping an arm around thinner shoulders. Zangetsu stiffened, but didn't move, his arm still raised to cover his eyes. "Hey," he said, yet the other didn't answer.

"Why are ya' covering yer eyes? Just me and you in here and we're kinda the same spirit." He said in a soft tone, one never heard by anyone but Zangetsu. The other removed his arm to glare at him, eyes still teeming with tears. "Don't look at me like that, why don't we marvel at the fucked-up interior of our King for as long as we can, instead?"

"It's not fucked-up, Shiro." Was all the reply he got, but Shiro grinned at seeing the other doing as suggested.

"It's goddamned side-ways, how else would ya' describe it?" He jokingly asked, even as the buildings and the sky started to glow. He could feel his and Zangetsu's power being drawn. Being drained. "Heh, it has begun."

"Yes." The black-haired man's shoulders trembled violently. The hollow spirit had to wonder at how, for once, it was him consoling Zangetsu and not the other way around. It was weird, unnatural even, seeing Zangetsu weak like this, when he was always the one to encourage the both of them —He and King—, to reassure them and to calm them down. "And this place is majestic in its own way. It's beautiful."

"Damn, you're right." The white Ichigo said, and at the far end they could see that things had started to disappear. Zangetsu wept. Shirosaki knew that he was far worse than himself mainly because while Shiro had been a part of Zangetsu that had been forcefully separated, gaining another consciousness; Zangetsu had been _born _when ichigo was born. He had lived here, not as a zanpakuto but merely as a part of Ichigo. And dear, stupid Ichigo was going to make everyone disappear.

"KING!" He bellowed at the air, gripping Zangetsu closer to him. "YA' DAMN BETTER APPRECIATE WHAT ZANGETSU AN' I ARE DOING HERE!"

"Don't be an idiot. Of course he will." The other male chuckled, adding, "The three of us fought and we told him what would happen."

"We tried to stop him though."

Here, Zangetsu's tears fell harder, "We wanted to protect him. Us. But he knows the risks now. Can't you see the stormy sky? Even as it fades…it still wants to cry for him, one last time…" And then Shiro moved so all Zangetsu could see was himself. He placed a kiss on his forehead as if he were his child before hugging him tight, letting the thinner man bury his head in his shoulder.

"I know. I'm just giving him a friendly reminder."

"He's going to suffer enough without it, you dolt… " He reprimanded, "I don't want to go." Zangetsu suddenly added, childishly enough. "I'm not ready to go. There are so many things Ichigo will have to affront in the future and neither of us will be there."

"His own damn fault." Zangetsu flinched and Shirosaki grimaced. "Oi, I was jokin'."

"I know. I just worry I never did enough for him…"

"Y'know, you did fine. Did more than was necessary in my opinion. Now it's time to rest." The monochromatic spirit answered, feeling the same as the other —just with a larger amount of anger and I-can't-believe-you're-so-stupid-King. And then Shiro closed his eyes as well, not wanting to see how his world ceased to exist.

.

They were parts of a single soul, but they were still living beings. They didn't want to die. They didn't want to cease to exist, to be lonely. They didn't want neither of them to be lonely either.

But yet, Ichigo needed to do this, needed to defeat Aizen, and if for that, Zangetsu and Shiro needed to give up on their existence…

Who were they to say no?

And so, as every cell of Zangetsu screamed in denial, as he kept quiet, saying nothing to the King, he cried for Ichigo, for Shiro and for himself.

And so, the relatively new Shirosaki felt more empty than angry as he held the other close. If one was already crying for the three, why should the others cry as well?

"Hey, we'll meet up again, don't be so sad." Shirosaki lied instead, as the landscape disappeared completely, engulfing them in white.

"**Final Getsuga Tenshou."**

Shirosaki never did know what happened next.

End

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**I wrote this and I'm so sad right now. QwQ that's what I get for writing this I suppose.**

**This is as you can guess –or not— after Ichigo's training to learn the Final Getsuga Tenshou and before…well using it. **

**And I haven't caught up with neither Anime nor manga so please no spoilers if you review if it can be avoided, if not, oh well.**

**Talking about which…Do leave a review with your thoughts~**


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